Associate Professor
Department of Communication
Trinity University

e-mail: hhaines@trinity.edu
(210) 999-8140 (office, voice mail)
(210) 999-8113 (Department of Communication)

The Viet Nam War Portfolio

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Inside:

The Purpose of the Assignment

Project Requirements:
• Format
• Specifications

Evaluation

Overview in the Syllabus

This is a small group assignment that will require work throughout the semester. Each class member will work as a member of a three or four person team that will be responsible for producing a Viet Nam War Portfolio scheduled for submission at the beginning of our class meeting on Monday, December 3. This assignment constitutes 40% of the final grade. The instructor expects each team to meet very high standards of excellence on this assignment and is prepared to consult with each team throughout the semester. Groups that avoid such consultation will be regarded as marginal.

The assignment is intended to provide a framework for the development of study groups and to encourage an in-depth group investigation of three important areas directly related to the course content: · film representations of the war · bibliographic and cinematic citations · primary research based on interviews The assignment will allow for continued small group discussion of our course readings and for the demonstration of original critical analysis, bibliographic work, and primary research efforts.

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The Portfolio will be organized into three parts.

Part One: Critical Understanding of a Film

The assignment is intended to provide a framework for the development of study groups and to encourage an in-depth group investigation of three important areas directly related to the course content: film representations of the war, bibliographic and cinematic citations, primary research based on interviews. The assignment will allow for continued small group discussion of our course readings and for the demonstration of original critical analysis, bibliographic work, and primary research efforts.

Your team is expected to view the film or documentary together and to develop a critical response to it. You will receive a list of feature films and documentaries that will be held on reserve for you at the library's Instructional Media Services (IMS) desk. Keep in mind that this section of your Portfolio is expected to demonstrate your critical understanding of media representations of the Viet Nam War.

In this section, your team is expected to apply the course's theoretical framework to a careful and convincing critical analysis of the media text you select. Remember that one of the objectives of this assignment is encourage small group discussion of the course content and collegial application of key concepts to a specific example. Teams that merely describe the plot of a film, without actually linking the film to the course content, will miss the target entirely. This section of the Portfolio will require a bibliography and internal citations, similar to the essays that appear in our anchor text, Dittmar & Michaud.

Part Two: Critical Understanding of Written and Visual Documents

The second part of the Portfolio will consist of an annotated bibliography & filmography. In the annotated bibliography, your team will list twenty (20) written texts that, in your informed opinion, are most crucial to a good understanding of the American experience in the Viet Nam War. These written texts may be historical or critical analyses, novels, memoirs, short stories, speeches, performance art pieces, policy documents, poems, the lyrics of popular songs, plays, etc. In each citation, you must provide a brief explanation of why the item is on your list of the top twenty written texts that any person should read in order to understand the American experience of the Viet Nam War. The bibliographic citations will be listed in alphabetical order, according to author.

In addition to the top twenty written texts, your team is also required to provide a filmography that lists the top ten (10) Viet Nam War films and television programs. Here, the film and television citations should be listed according to your group's perception of their importance. The number one film or television program on your filmography should be the most important one, and the others are listed in descending order.

Each film or television citation must include a brief explanation of why your group recommends it for viewing. What makes it a significant representation of the American experience in the Viet Nam War? Unlike Part One of the Portfolio, Part Two may draw upon the literature and media representations that are assigned in our class, as well as other sources as your group sees fit.

The instructor seeks no preconceived list that magically explains the complexities of the war and how our culture represents it. The instructor has no ideal list in mind! The purpose of this part of the assignment is to give your team the opportunity to grapple with what you regard as important documents and media texts related to the war, and it is very doubtful that your team will produce the definitive list of sources that explains the war. Given the enormous range of war literature and media texts, it is very doubtful that anyone could produce a definitive list that would be limited to the small number of citations required in this section.

But here's a key point: Your brief explanation of why you have selected a particular item for you bibliography or for your filmography should be convincing. Keep these explanations brief, but link them to our reading and discussions. Demonstrate your informed opinion, not just your opinion. Make copies of Part Two for distribution to all class members at our Final Examination Period.

Part Three: Primary Research

The third part of the Portfolio will consist of your group's primary research in the form of an interview you conduct and report. Here, you are required to locate a person who experienced the Viet Nam War or its aftermath in some crucial way.

This person might have been a combat soldier, a medic, a nurse, a radio operator, etc., in the war zone. This person might have been a soldier assigned to some other part of the world, including the U.S., during the war. This person might have been an anti-war activist, or perhaps he or she worked in support of the war effort in some way. This person might have been a loved one of a soldier or of a draft resister. This person might have been a college student who worried about his draft deferment throughout the war. This person might have been a member of the South Vietnamese government or army, or this person might be the child of a Vietnamese-American refugee.

Groups are especially encouraged to talk with persons about how people at Trinity University or in San Antonio experienced the war. Remember that San Antonio is a military town and that many retired Viet Nam era service personnel live here. Your own family members are potentially excellent interviewees, if they choose to participate.

You are expected to demonstrate initiative in tracking down a suitable interviewee and sensitivity in the formulation of questions. In order to avoid duplicate interviews, your group must secure the instructor's approval of a proposed interviewee. This should happen early in the semester. Note that the formulation of questions will be of paramount significance, and you will want to make use of the instructor's professional expertise in this area.

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• Typed or computer generated
  
  
• Consistent with American Psychological Association (APA) or Modern Language Association (MLA) style guide; the guides are available at the library reference desk
  
  
• Free of spelling and grammar mistakes
  
  
• Coherent thesis statement, supported by evidence and an abundance of examples
  
  
• Explicitly linked to reading assignments and class discussions; the absence of explicit references to our assigned reading signals that the group has done a mediocre job; locate your work in reference to the course's theoretical framework explained in the early part of the semester
  
  
• Models: use the critical essays in D&M and O'Nan as models for Part One. Rely on the reading assignments in Herring, Lembcke and D&M to direct you to key written texts for Part Two and note the filmography in D&M. Organize Part 3 in Q & A fashion, noting that the reading assignments, lectures and films should inspire your questions.
  
  
• Page count: the entire Portfolio will probably run between 15 4/5 pages and 27 2/3 pages; most of the pages will probably be included in Parts One and Two.
  
  
• Be sure to make copies of Part 2 for distribution to all class members; the copies must include your team title (see below) and the names of each team member.
  
  
• Please include a single cover sheet that includes title, date of submission, course number and title, the instructor's name, the team's title (see below), and the name of each team member.
  
  
• Staple the Portfolio pages; please do not use a plastic cover. A massive, industrial strength stapler is available for your use at the Communication Department Office. The instructor will not accept Portfolios that are not securely stapled.
  
  
• You are expected to carefully proof your Portfolio and to demonstrate attention to the details of substance and format.
  
  
• Your group must select a title for itself, and the title must be drawn from our assigned reading, discussions, media representations, or from military jargon, soldier nicknames, rock music, etc. Select the team title with great care and be sure to include it on the copies of the bibliography / filmography that you distribute to all class members at our Final Examination Period.

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